By Khalida Sarwari
The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and the Angel Island State Park is planning to hold a poetry reading today at the historic U.S. Immigration Station in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month.
Between 1910 and 1940, the Immigration Station served as the point of entry for over one million immigrants from over 80 nations. The Immigration Station, known as the “Ellis Island of the West,” was reopened to the public recently after undergoing preservation and restoration.
The barracks walls of the Immigration Station are famously marked with Chinese poems and inscriptions.
Playwright and poet Genny Lim, author William Poy Lee, scholars Charles Egan and Maria Sakovich will read poems written by Angel Island immigrants. Bay Area leaders, including San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and Supervisor Eric Mar will also participate in the reading.
The poetry reading will be held at 1 p.m. on Angel Island, San Francisco. Self-guided tours of the detention barracks and the new interpretive panels on the grounds are available before and after the program.